The present invention relates to a memory card installer for installing a memory card generally used as a portable recording medium in order to transmit data to the memory card. More specifically, the present invention relates to a memory card adapter for mutually transmitting between a device such as a personal computer and a portable telephone and a memory card which does not adapt to such a device, and a data transmitter for transmitting data between the memory cards as the memory card installer.
A memory card is generally used as a portable recording medium since it is simply handled and its storage capacity is comparatively large.
A personal computer as one example of an information processing device has a memory card installation part based on various device side memory card connecting standards such as PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association).
The memory card is installed to the memory card installation part of the personal computer so that various data are mutually transmitted between the memory card and the personal computer.
A memory card adapter as the memory card installer enables data to be mutually transmitted between a memory card which does not adapt to the memory card connecting standard on the personal computer device side and a personal computer.
Only one memory card can be installed to a conventional memory card adapter. In such a memory card adapter, in the case where data are transmitted to a plurality of memory cards, memory card adapters should be replaced at the memory card installation part of the personal computer, and thus the data transmitting operation becomes troublesome.
Further, in a personal computer, there are plural kinds of memory cards which do not adapt to the device side memory card connecting standard, memory card adapters corresponding to respective memory cards should be prepared, so that the cost increases and the handing of the memory card adapters becomes troublesome.
In addition, there is not a memory card adapter, the data transmission between memory cards requires a troublesome transmitting operation.
Therefore, it is a main object of the present invention to provide a memory card installer which intervenes between an information processing device such as a personal computer and a memory card so as to eliminate a troublesome mutual transmitting operation of data between the information processing device and the memory card, and handing of which is simple.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a memory card installer for transmitting data between such memory cards when no memory card adapter exists.
A first memory card installer of the present invention has: a main body having a shape that can be installed to a memory card installation part provided to a device connected with a memory card; an installation part to which a plurality of memory cards are installed; a device side I/O terminal which is electrically connected with the device side in a state that the main body is installed to the memory card installation part; a plurality of memory card side I/O terminals which are electrically connected with memory cards, respectively, installed to the installation part; and a connection switching part for switching so as to connect the memory card side I/O terminals, respective to the device side I/O terminal.
The device includes a personal computer, an image processing device and another information processing devices.
The memory card installer includes a memory card adapter and a data transmitter.
According to the first invention, a plurality of memory cards can be electrically connected with the device. For this reason, data can be mutually transmitted between the plural memory cards and the device without replacing the memory card installer. As a result, troublesomeness of the mutual transmitting operation of data between the device and memory cards is eliminated.
In a preferable embodiment of the first invention, a memory card based on another memory card connecting standard different from the device side memory card connecting standard is connected to the device via the memory card adapter, so that data can be mutually transmitted between the memory cards and the device.
In this case, the data can be mutually transmitted between the plural memory cards based on another memory card connecting standard different from the device side memory card connecting standard and the personal computer by one memory card adapter.
In a preferable embodiment of the first invention, the memory card side I/O terminals may be electrically connected with plural memory cards based on different memory card connecting standards, respectively.
In this case, data can be mutually transmitted between the plural memory cards, which are based on a memory card connecting standard different from the device side memory card connecting standard and based on memory card connecting standards different from one another, and the personal computer by one memory card adapter.
In a preferable embodiment of the first invention, data converting sections may convert data captured from one memory card via a terminal composed of the memory card side I/O terminals into data which adapt to the memory card connecting standard on which another memory card connected to another terminal of the memory card side I/O terminals is based so as to output the converted data to the another terminal.
In this case, data can be mutually transmitted between the memory cards based on different memory card connecting standards, respectively, not via the device.
In a preferable embodiment of the first invention, the installation part may have concave portions provided on one surface of the main body for housing the memory cards, and a depth of the concave portions may be equivalent to or not less than a thickness of the memory cards.
In this case, since the installation part is provided to the adapter main body, a shape of the memory card adapter can be miniaturized. Here, since the depth of the concave portions is equivalent to or not less than the thickness of the memory card, the memory cards housed in the concave portions do not protrude from the surface of the adapter main body. For this reason, even in a state that the memory cards are housed in the concave portions, the adapter main body can be installed to a memory card connected device.
In a preferable embodiment of the first invention, the main body further has a protrusion which protrudes from the device in a state that the main body is installed to the device, and the installation part is provided to the protrusion.
In this case, since the protrusion protrudes from the device in the state that the adapter main body is installed to the device, the protrusion can be formed into an arbitrary size. For this reason, the installation part is provided to the protrusion, so that the installation part to which an arbitrary number of memory cards can be installed can be formed.
In a preferable embodiment of the first invention, a connecting part for connecting the protrusion to the main body in a bendable state may be further provided.
In this case, since the protrusion protrudes from the device, it is considered that the protrusion is intrusive during use of the memory card adapter. On the contrary, in this embodiment, since the connecting part is provided so as to support the protrusion in a bendable state, a bending part can be bent to a nonintrusive position by the connecting part.
A memory card installer of a second invention has: an installation part to which a plurality of memory cards are installed; and the data converting sections for capturing data of one memory card (a transmitting source memory card) installed to the installation part and converting the captured data into data which adapt to a memory card connecting standard on which the other memory card is based (a transmitting destination memory card) so as to output the converted data.
According to the second invention, data can be transmitted between memory cards without intervention of the device.
In a preferable embodiment of the second invention, a plurality of output terminals may be provided, and the data converting sections can transmit data of the transmitting source memory card simultaneously to a plurality of the transmitting destination memory cards in order to transmit the data of the transmitting source memory card captured from an input terminal to one or plural transmitting destination memory card(s) via an output terminal.
In this case, since the data of the transmitting source memory card can be transmitted simultaneously to the plural transmitting destination memory cards, troublesomeness of the data transmission between the memory cards can be further eliminated.
In a preferable embodiment of the second invention, in a state that the transmitting source memory card and the transmitting destination memory card are based on different memory card connecting standards, the data converting sections convert the data of the transmitting source memory card captured from the input terminal into the data which adapt to the memory card connecting standard on which the transmitting destination memory card is based so as to transmit the converted data to the transmitting destination memory card via the output terminal.
In this case, since data can be transmitted between the memory cards based on different memory card connecting standards, accordingly troublesomeness of the data transmission between the memory cards can be further eliminated.
In a preferable embodiment of the second invention, a plurality of output terminals which adapt to transmitting destination memory cards based on different memory card connecting standards are provided as the output terminal, and the transmitting section converts the data of the transmitting source memory card captured from the input terminal into data which adapt to the memory card connecting standards on which the transmitting destination memory cards are based, respectively, so as to transmit the converted data to the transmitting destination memory cards, respectively, via the output terminals.
In this case, data can be transmitted from the transmitting source memory card to plural kinds of transmitting destination memory cards based on different connecting standards of the memory card, and since data can be transmitted to plural kinds of memory cards based on different connecting standards, respectively, troublesomeness of the data transmission between the memory cards can be further eliminated.